The Old Normal

Hi, today we explore: (1) The reported fall of remote work, (2) Goldman's changing tracks, (3) Gigflation is real. TOGETHER WITH Today's Topics Hello! Great news for booze-drinkers who are more John Daly than Jack Daniels: Absolut Vodka is partnering with Sprite to make a pre-mixed [canned cocktail](. Today we're exploring: - The old normal: Work-from-home rates are dropping... in some states more than others. - Spinning out: Goldman Sachs is reshaping its focus. - Gig-going: Concert inflation is real. Have feedback for us? Just hit reply — we'd love to hear from you! [Read this on the web instead]( The old normal? Nature is healing... at least from the perspective of employers looking to push return-to-office mandates. The share of Americans working from home has fallen below 26% according to new Census data, the lowest level since the [pandemic began](. At the peak of the WFH boom in March 2021, some 37% of us were logging on remotely at least once a week, as employees settled into routine Zoom meetings and workdays without the commute. By comparison, there are now only 7 states in the US where more than a third of the workforce have weekly work-from-home days. The overall figures mask a serious regional deviation: just 13% of people surveyed in Wyoming reported anyone working from home in their household, while their neighbors to the south in Colorado reported nearly triple the rate — similar to the more densely populated states of the North East. Despite the new Census data, questions being raised about the productivity of [remote workers]( and an ever-growing [cacophony of calls]( to return to the office from companies across the US, there’s still a lot of debate around the pandemic-born trend. Only 2 days ago, for example, a Stanford economics professor argued that remote work is “here to stay” and declared the 5-day office work week “dead” in an opinion piece for [the NYT](. Lost Sol Goldman Sachs’ latest quarterly results, released on [Tuesday]( revealed profits declined 33% year-over-year, compounding a weak Q2 when the bank’s bottom line shrunk 58%. That wasn’t the only development yesterday where the investment giant skipped a beat. CEO David Solomon has also decided to [step back]( from his side hustle — by night, performing as a DJ under the moniker DJ D-Sol — due to “media attention” surrounding the hobby reportedly distracting him from his day job of leading one of Wall Street’s most vaunted firms. Below decks In his 5-year tenure, the CEO has come under fire for a series of [controversies]( seeking to impose corporate discipline in Goldman’s loose partner structure; sparring over bonuses and company restructuring; overseeing the infamous [1MBD]( fund; and paying off [sexual harassment]( settlements. Now, with Goldman’s earnings reaching a 3-year low on consumer losses, the company is pulling back on its efforts to pivot toward “Main Street”. With the launch of Marcus products in 2016, the bank was looking to build a sturdier business — dealmaking is wildly profitable, but much harder to predict than steady fee-generating businesses like managing deposits and wealth management. But, as it turns out, building a “boring” business based on deposits, loans, and credit cards was harder than anticipated — so, for now, Goldman will stick to what it knows best: the world of high finance. [Sponsored by Modern Treasury]( 9 hours later… New research from [Modern Treasury]( suggests that the average financial decision-maker loses a full workday every week…dealing with payments operations issues. 9 lost hours is up from 2021's figure — despite advances in AI and automation technology. In fact, 84% of execs polled said up to half of their payment processes are still manual. [Modern Treasury]( sought to understand why that is, asking 500+ financial decision-makers and collating the results in a [new report]( The State of Payment Operations 2023. Nearly every single exec saw the benefits of automating payment systems — but 90% also recognized barriers to upgrading them. Most finance teams feel that things can be better, but pinpointing what and how isn’t easy. Get [The State of Payment Operations 2023]( (free PDF) to see where the industry stands — and take your company to the cutting edge of payments. [Download the report: The State of Payment Operations 2023]( Gigflation Taylor Swift's Eras Tour Film wasn’t just a [record-breaking]( concert movie when it came out last Friday: it also gave many of her devoted fans a chance to guarantee they got a good seat for ~$20 if they missed out on tickets for the real thing... and don’t fancy forking out $11,000 for [resale spots](. It’s not just Swifties who’ve been suffering from the ticketing uptick in recent years, either. The average price to go and see one of the top 100 North American tours in 2023 — from Sheeran to Springsteen — will now set you back $120.11, according to data from Pollstar cited by [the WSJ](. For context, tickets for the same sort of shows cost $62.50 on average in 2009. That’s showbiz Despite rising ticket prices and [long-standing issues]( with online vendors and resellers, American gig-goers haven’t been dissuaded from getting their entertainment fix. Indeed, the rip-roaring success of shows from artists like [Swift and Beyonce]( led the Bank of America to highlight live gigs as the clear star of the media and entertainment industry in its recent “Funflation In Full Force” [report](. With concert culture flying in the wake of summer’s [much-reported]( Barbenheimer boom, will 2023 be remembered (say it quietly) as the year that America got its appetite for in-person entertainment and experiences back after an elongated pandemic slump? More Data • The FBI’s annual [crime report]( published yesterday found that violent crime dropped 1.7% last year… while property crime rose 7.1%. • Consumer giant P&G reported that organic sales have risen 7% in [its latest quarter]( driven entirely by price increases, as volumes fell 1%. • The world has a [new hottest pepper]( Pepper X, which measured a scorching 2.69 million on the Scoville scale. • The new era of payments is here — but according to 84% of financial execs, up to half of all payment processes are still manual. [Modern Treasury]( uncovered the industry’s technology gap in The State of Payment Operations 2023, available to [download free]( • A long-lost miniature model of an [X-wing]( fighter from the original 1977 Star Wars film has sold at auction for an astronomical $3.1 million. **This is sponsored content. Hi-Viz • Have a nose around the 40 "[coolest neighborhoods]( in the world. • The changing faces of [romance novel]( covers over time. Quick cut: Which much-loved confectionery product, generally on sale from January to April each year, is reportedly getting [more expensive]( this season? [Answer below]. [Answer here](. Thanks for reading. See you on Friday! Have some [feedback](mailto:daily@chartr.co?subject=Feedback&body=Hi%2C%0A%0AI%20like%20the%20newsletters%2C%20but%20I%20had%20a%20thought%20for%20you...) or want to [sponsor]( this newsletter? Not a subscriber? Sign up for free below. [Subscribe]( Copyright © 2023 CHARTR LIMITED, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: CHARTR LIMITED Kemp House 152 - 160 City RoadLondon, EC1V 2NX United Kingdom [Add us to your address book]( Don't want charts in your inbox anymore? Break our hearts and [unsubscribe](.